Wednesday 6 September 2023

TV On The Radio #16: Deputy Dog


As soon as I heard today's closing tune on an old car compilation, I knew I had to feature Deputy Dawg. However, the character I pictured in my head was not the one I discovered when I put his name into google. Turns out, I was confusing D-Dawg with Huckleberry Hound... making me wonder if I've ever even seen a Deputy Dawg cartoon. Having watched a couple on the tube of you, I'm not sure I've missed anything. Feel free to tell me otherwise if you've got the DVD box set at home and posters on your bedroom wall.

Still, it's the music that matters, and DD's name crops up in a surprising amount of pop songs, besides the one I knew. Let's kick off with the Woolly Bully people...


Or you may prefer a more soulful take...


When I saw the band name below and the album title "Kill Us All", I imagined a very different sound to the one I actually heard. Give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised...


Robi Mitch is from Bristol and now lives in Cornwall. I shoehorned him in because I liked his tune...

Guess that I'll live longer than some good ones
Guess that I'll go sooner than some bad ones
Cos the good lord gives and he takes away
In a way that doesn't make sense to me
Guess that it's a good job that he's the top dog
And I am just a deputy


And now here's The Cult...

Jimi was a boogie man
Took a shotgun in his hand
Turned on dude candy-man
He walked into the wrong town
Deputy Dog man wait inside
Jimi thought he'd better hide
Suddenly changed his mind
Shot 'em all on sight, yeah


I'm not sure if anyone will have guessed today's winner, but it was obvious to me. How could I not love a song that goes thus...?

No one in the world ever gets what they want
And that is beautiful
Everybody dies frustrated and sad
And that is beautiful

TMBG songwriter John Linnell insists this isn't a depressing song, saying he made the words up just to fit the tune. Which probably explains this...

When you are alone
You are the cat, you are the phone
You are an animal
The words I'm singing now
Mean nothing more than "meow" to an animal
Wake up and smell the cat food
In your bank account
But don't try to stop the tail
That wags the hound

Meanwhile, the video is anything but depressing, as the band run around with rolls of carpet sticking out the tops of their heads... you won't see Ed Sheeran doing that, will you? Oh, and Deputy Dawg is in there too. Just stick with it...



3 comments:

  1. "I'm not sure I've missed anything." It pains me to read that. I have fond memories of watching Deputy Dawg as a child.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I too have fond memories of watching Deputy Dawg as a child. And what about Astronut? Ah, good times!

    ReplyDelete

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